Chick friendly hotel chains??

[Celticdragonfly]

SO - I'm supposed to be getting 4 new chicks from Meyer Hatcheries in September. I had NOT been happy with our results with the closest hatchery, and hey, lots of people get chicks by mail, right? No problem!

AND now .... the post office is getting royally screwed over, and I've been reading multiple articles about LOTS (like, thousands) of chicks ending up dead on arrival. Like, 800 out of 800 was one shipment quoted.

SO - we're kinda stir crazy anyway - my husband works from home and would love to see the world again and has some vacation time - so we're doing a 4 day road trip! Two days up, then pick up the chicks and two days home. Hatchery has been notified. Daughter knows she must have the rubbermaid bin that was converted into a brooderbox all ready by then, and the new waterer will hang off the side and should handle it well. Reservations for two hotel nights on the way up have been made.

Trouble is - getting a reservation on the way HOME. I need something prolly just a bit to the west of Nashville, TN. Of course I was looking for pet friendly hotels. EVEN SO it has been awful. One that was listed as pet friendly said they only accept service animals. Um, dumbass, that's not "pet friendly" , that's "not actually breaking the ADA laws". One apparently did not understand any difference between one day old chicks and adult roosters and was insisting no because of "they make noise". Another - dog only.

I can find sites online that will list pet friendly hotels - but they show whether it's dogs, or dogs and cats.

Any advice other than me just having to call every alleged pet friendly hotel on the way up? They're *gonna* stay in the brooder box all night....

 

[IamRainey]

As you note, these are 1, 2, 3 maybe 4 day old chicks. I have a very good feeling you could carry a box into a room without anyone inquiring what it was. ...unless they heard the chirping.

As my husband says, sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission.

What's your plan to keep them warm for the trip?

 

[em_dawson]

"They're wind up toys. Early easter present. Aren't they realistic?"

In all seriousness, though, like IamRainey said, you could probably carry them in if worse came to worse. But I second the question about heat.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Oh, I do hope you figure out a way to make your trip work! I think I would ask for forgiveness and bring a heating pad. They have 12v heating pads that will plug into cars.

I traveled cross country with 2 hibernating tortoises. I kept them in a shoe box inside a 12 v drink cooler in my car while driving and in hotel fridges at night. Worked like a charm!

 

[Mylied]

I've traveled with lots of unusual pets. I don't ask permission because hotels only allow dogs or cats. I traveled ga to tx with a piglet and back. That was fun. He'd squeal really loud when he was hungry. Never got caught. Day old chicks should be no problem. A heating pad that doesn't have a shut off timer would keep them warm.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Or borrow/rent an RV?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Normally I wouldn't say sneak 'em in, but... sneak 'em in. Or leave them in the car overnight. How are you planning to keep them warm over the trip? I was thinking hand warmers, since they don't need to be plugged in... not sure if those would work or not.

The most animals I've put in a hotel room was 2 dogs, a hamster, and 4 tanks of fish - we were moving out of state, and it was for 1 night. Obviously we only mentioned the dogs, but then again hamsters and fish are silent.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

I was planning to have the brooder box in the back seat, and the Brinsea EcoGlow Brooder in it - his car has 2 front and 1 rear power socket, and I can get a converter that I can plug 110v plugs into, easy.

It's a great size to raise chicks in - but a bit large to quietly sneak into a room. (Cat is NOT coming)

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wouldn't bring the full sized brooder. Have that ready to go at home.

Gotta think that since they send chicks through the sky in boxes all the time, that simply a cardboard box with some airholes would do, something big enough to comfortably fit the heat pad. If you're picking up newly hatched chicks, they don't even need food or water for first 72 hrs or so. Or see if the hatchery has grogel, mainly to avoid the issue of water sloshing around in the car.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Hmmm. Yes, I think I may see if I can pick up a smaller box, something only a bit bigger than the brooder plate, and use that. Plastic with some bedding in it if I can find something appropriate and opaque. I know the hatchery has Grogel, because it was an option for shipped chicks, so that should be okay. I've never dealt with the stuff before. A smaller box would be way easier to sneak into a hotel room.